What are the common industrial dust removal methods?

With the continuous aggravation of industrial environmental pollution, in order to control the problem of fugitive emissions from industrial enterprises such as steel and coking plants, various industrial enterprises are required to carry out dust removal treatment during the production process. However, faced with various types of dust removal equipment and technologies on the market,how should one choose?

In terms of dust removal technology, it is mainly divided into two types: wet dust removal and dry dust removal. 

The commonly used methods in industrial dust removal mainly include the following:

I. Wet Dust Removal

Wet dust removal refers to the use of liquids such as water and oil, using techniques such as spraying and film formation, to capture dust and other particulate matter and carry them into the liquid. Through the combination of dust and liquid, the purpose of purification is achieved. 

Common industrial wet dust removal equipment mainly includes mist cannons, dry mist systems, dual-fluid mist cannons, mist towers, intelligent car wash machines, and air space mist curtain systems.

① Mist Cannon

A mist cannon, also known as a spray cannon, uses the principle of wind delivery.  It first uses an imported high-pressure pump and fine atomizing nozzles to atomize water, and then uses the air volume and pressure of a fan to send the atomized water mist to a longer distance, allowing the water mist to reach a greater distance while covering a larger area. The water mist condenses with the dust and falls, thus achieving the purpose of dust reduction.

Applications: Mist cannons are widely used in various industries and scenarios, such as steel, cement, coking, quarries, docks, workshops, construction sites, and other places where fugitive dust is generated.

② Dry Mist System

The dry mist system creates micron-sized droplets using compressed air and ordinary tap water through reasonable configuration of the spray volume. 

The droplets are injected into the area where dust is concentrated, and have sufficient residence time to adsorb dust particles in the air, causing them to stick together and fall, thus achieving the effect of dust reduction.

Applications: Mainly used for fugitive dust control in enclosed and semi-enclosed spaces such as cement plants, quarries, power plants, coal mines, coal washing plants, steel plants, coal ports and docks, coal transshipment stations, coal yards, and coking plants. 

③ Dual-Fluid Mist Cannon

The dual-fluid mist cannon receives air and water supplied by the dry mist system and transforms them into a cloud of mist with particle diameters of 1-10 μm, which is then sprayed out in a swinging motion. The spraying distance of the dual-fluid mist cannon is 15-25 meters, and it sprays towards the dust suppression points according to the control instructions from the control box. 

Under the combined effects of gravity sedimentation, inertial collision, interception and capture, electrostatic capture, Brownian diffusion, and condensation, dust particles adhere to each other, agglomerate and increase in size, and then settle under their own gravity, thus achieving the effect of dust suppression.

Applications: Dust pollution control in open-air material yards, coal logistics parks, open-pit mining, open-pit blasting dust, enclosed unloading areas, truck unloading ports, dump truck unloading ports, dust from large loading vehicles, dust suppression during loading and unloading of coal, ore, and bulk powders at coastal ports, etc.

④ Mist Column

The mist column, driven by a water pump power source, pressurizes water to high pressure through the main unit, and then atomizes and sprays it through high-pressure nozzles. The atomized particles are between 100 μm and 150 μm, and the spraying radius can reach 8-15 meters. 

This effectively solves the problem of reduced dust removal efficiency due to wind in outdoor dust removal applications, improving spraying efficiency and resource utilization.

Applications: Can be used for long-distance spray dust removal in areas with high dust levels, such as roads and streets, coal yards, power plants, cement plants, steel plants, and other places with high dust concentrations.

⑤ Intelligent Car Wash Machine

The intelligent car wash machine uses an integrated car wash room and machine room, combined with sensing technology and machine recognition technology, to achieve a complete set of operations including efficient and fast continuous washing of engineering vehicles and recycling of waste dust. 

This helps industrial enterprises prevent the uncontrolled emission of dust from the tires, front, chassis, and body of transport vehicles, preventing these residual dust particles from scattering and polluting the environment. 

Applications: Suitable for various work sites, including municipal sanitation, petrochemicals, machinery manufacturing, power generation, automotive, shipbuilding, railways and highways, construction, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, food processing, mining, and other industrial fields.  It is also easy to transport and can be quickly put into use.

⑥ Airspace Mist Curtain System

The airspace mist curtain system uses a high-pressure pump to pressurize water to 50-70 kg, which is then delivered through high-pressure pipelines to high-pressure nozzles for atomization, forming a floating water mist.  

Because the water mist particles are micron-sized and very fine, they effectively adsorb and agglomerate dust suspended in the air—especially inhalable dust particles with a diameter of 5-10 μm—causing them to settle due to gravity, thus achieving dust suppression.

Applications: Suitable for enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces in industrial enterprises with unorganized emissions, such as ceramic factories, cement plants, furniture factories, coating plants, waste transfer stations, power plants, ports and docks, railway freight yards, mines, coal mines, coal washing plants, steel plants, and coal chemical plants.  

Examples include material sheds, silos, screening towers, mixing stations, and crushing rooms—places with large amounts of dust and severe dust pollution from unorganized particulate emissions.

Dry Dust Removal

Dry dust collectors are contrasted with wet dust collectors, but they are generally not referred to as "dry dust collectors."  Their classification is usually based on their working principle, including gravity, inertial, centrifugal, bag, and electrostatic types. 

These methods do not use water as a filtering medium. Generally, the most commonly used dry dust removal methods are bag filters and electrostatic precipitators.

① Bag Filters

Bag filters utilize the filtering action of fibrous fabrics to filter dust-laden gases, thereby achieving dust suppression. Bag filters can be divided into three types based on their design principles: mechanical vibration type bag filters, atmospheric reverse-flow bag filters, and pulse-jet bag filters.

Applications: Bag filters are mainly used to separate particulate dust and fine dust from industrial exhaust gases in industries such as metallurgy, mining, cement, power plants, building materials, and forging.

② Electrostatic Precipitators

Electrostatic precipitators are a dust removal method that uses the electrostatic adhesion effect to capture dust particles. They are mainly used to separate particulate dust and fine dust contained in industrial exhaust emissions. 

Electrostatic precipitators are further divided into two types based on the ash removal method: dry electrostatic precipitators and wet electrostatic precipitators. Dry electrostatic precipitators use mechanical vibration for ash removal, while wet electrostatic precipitators use a water film method for ash removal.

Due to the complexity of production processes in industrial enterprises, a single dust removal method is usually insufficient to achieve satisfactory results.  Therefore, a comprehensive treatment approach combining multiple dust removal methods is generally adopted.  

When choosing a dust removal method, in addition to considering the dust removal technology and equipment, selecting a professional dust removal and environmental protection company is also crucial.

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